Microsoft Activision deal all but guaranteed as UK regulator sides with Xbox
Weeks after voicing concerns over lessening competition in the console space, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has reversed its position and looks dead set on approving Microsoft’s Activision acquisition.
Microsoft ’s ongoing battle to have the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) approve its proposed $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard finally looks to be coming to an end, as the UK watchdog has turned around on its previous belief that the merger could “harm UK players”. This comes just weeks after it proposed Call of Duty could be removed from the deal entirely.
In a new statement discussing its updated findings, CMA chairman Martin Coleman stated “we have now provisionally concluded that the merger will not result in a substantial lessening of competition in console gaming services”. The reason being, he said, is because Microsoft making Call of Duty an Xbox exclusive franchise would be “loss-making under any plausible scenario” and therefore very silly. Essentially, Microsoft won’t stop releasing Call of Duty on PlayStation because it would lose money doing so.
Microsoft and Activision have unsurprisingly welcomed the UK regulator’s new stance, with the former telling CNBC in a statement that it “appreciate the CMA’s rigorous and thorough evaluation of the evidence and welcome its updated provisional findings” before taking a shot at Sony’s attempt to sabotage the deal, stating it “can’t overcome facts”. It then went on to say how this decision will make Call of Duty and other games more accessible to players.
The CMA’s final ruling on the acquisition isn’t due until April 26, 2023, but this revised stance all but confirms that Activision Blizzard – and therefore Call of Duty – shouldn’t have too hard a problem being welcomed into the Xbox family going forward.
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It’s rather fitting that the CMA’s near-final decision on the Activision Blizzard merger into Microsoft has primarily been informed by the deal's financial outcome. I agree it wouldn’t make sense for Call of Duty to become an Xbox exclusive franchise in the short term, but then past precedent does indicate that this might be the goal eventually.
Microsoft said much the same about making games more accessible back when it purchased Bethesda, and yet we live in a world now where Starfield and Redfall are no longer coming to PS5. Fortunately, although the CMA ultimately looks like it will approve the deal, Sony’s meddling worked to the degree that it’s forced Microsoft to make a series of deals and promises it’ll have a tough time going back on.
The biggest of these, of course, is its commitment to making Call of Duty available to other platforms for at least 10 years – including the Nintendo Switch. This will almost certainly apply to PS4 and PS5 too, so following Call of Duty joining Xbox, the race is on for PlayStation to create a worthy military shooter competitor.
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